LOGINARIELLA I froze. It wasn’t inappropriate. It wasn’t… that. But it was.... Familiar. Too familiar. Asher laughed, reaching up to ruffle her hair, messing it up playfully as someone would do with a younger sibling. “Hey, stranger,” he said. Leon stood beside them, smiling brightly, clearly loving
ARIELLA I exhaled. “Okay.” “I’ll see you later,” he said. “Don’t be late for dinner,” I responded. “I want a promise.” A small smile slipped into his voice. “Okay. I promise.” “I love you.” I couldn't help myself. “I love you too.” The call ended and I stayed there for a moment longer, star
ARIELLA The truth was… maybe I did. Maybe I had seen them before. Maybe I had grown up around them. But I didn’t actually know who had died. “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Maybe.” Leon frowned again. “Then why didn’t you go to the funeral?” I hesitated. “I guess I should have,” I admitted
ARIELLA After breakfast, I tried to keep the morning as normal as possible. For Leon, and most importantly…For myself. “Mom,” Leon said, looking up at me, “should we go and prepare my study room? You told me that I could help.” “Of course,” I said. But before we walked out, I turned toward Marg
ARIELLA I held his gaze. “I can’t survive without you,” I said again. “You won’t have to,” he replied quietly. “I’m going to be okay. I’ll come back. I have to. You and Leon are waiting for me. I won’t break that promise.” He lifted my chin gently so I had no choice but to look at him. “I just
ARIELLA I woke up to feel light kisses on my face. I opened my eyes to find Asher hovering over me, pressing soft kisses against my skin. I let out a small laugh as he brushed his lips against mine before straightening. He was already dressed. Tie in place. Hair perfectly styled. Everything about
ASHER I kept a much closer eye on Dinara and Dominic after my talk with Luca. Dinara seemed eager to push their plan forward quickly, wanting it done before things in the famiglia truly settled. Dominic, though, still hesitated; he kept stalling, trying to push whatever they were planning further d
ASHER In the morning, when I woke up, I found Dinara in surprisingly high spirits. She wasn’t giving me hate looks anymore, but she had prepared breakfast....and she actually tried to coax me into eating, as if I were about to drop dead from food poisoning. I’m never going to eat anything in this
And there she was. Dinara stood at the end of the hall, framed by the broken door, her face pale but her eyes like steel. The gun in her hand didn’t tremble, not even a little. Smoke curled from the barrel, drifting between us. “You,” I hissed, my voice low and ragged. “Yes, it’s me. Are you surpr
ASHER I didn’t move. Instead, I glanced at Dominic. “Dominic, she’s using you. Once she’s done with you, maybe she’ll use the next person who can solve her next problem; maybe that problem might be you. She doesn’t really love you. Just open your eyes. Just l a month ago, she was talking to me ab







